A clachan ( ga, clochán or ; gd, clachan ; gv, claghan ) is a small settlement or

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

on the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. Though many were originally kirktowns,MacBain, A. (1911) ''An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language''

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

Eneas MacKay, 1982 edition by Gairm today they are often thought of as small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s lacking a church, post office, or other formal building. It is likely that many date to medieval times or earlier – a cluster of small single-storey cottages of farmers and/or fishermen, invariably found on poorer land. They were often related to the rundale system of farming. According to David Lloyd, the Great Famine in Ireland (1845–49) caused such disruption to the social system that the clachans there virtually disappeared; many in the Scottish Highlands were victims of the Clearances. In some cases, they have evolved into holiday villages, or one or two houses have taken over, turning smaller houses into agricultural outhouses. Remains can be seen in many upland and coastal areas. Some are clustered in a dip in the landscape, to protect from Atlantic winds, but others stretch haphazardly along main roads.

Etymology

The word is composed of two elements, ''clach''/''cloch'' meaning "stone" and the masculine diminutive suffix ''-an''/''-án''. It originally denoted one of two things: * a monastic stone-cell ( clochán). * a paved road or causeway which in the earliest period were most commonly found leading to or from a church or cell{{cite web , url=http://www.dil.ie/results-list.asp?mode=BAS&Fuzzy=0&searchtext=cloch%C3%A1n&findlet=+&findcol=&sortField=ID&sortDIR=65602&respage=0&resperpage=10&bhcp=1 , archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218075213/http://www.dil.ie/results-list.asp?mode=BAS&Fuzzy=0&searchtext=cloch%C3%A1n&findlet=+&findcol=&sortField=ID&sortDIR=65602&respage=0&resperpage=10&bhcp=1 , url-status=dead , archive-date=18 February 2013 , title=eDIL , author= , date= , publisher= Royal Irish Academy &

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

, accessdate=10 June 2012 This should not be confused with the Scottish Gaelic plural of ''clach'' which is ''clachan'' "stones", a

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones (equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition, ...

Examples

In Ireland: * Cloghane in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the cou ...

Cloghan, County Offaly Cloghan () is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N62 National secondary road and the R356 and R357 regional roads. Amenities Cloghan had (as of 2016) a population of 601, and is home to a car dealer ...

Cloghan, County Donegal Cloghan () is a village in the rural centre of County Donegal, Ireland. Cloghan is on the R252 regional road, northwest of the "Twin Towns" of Ballybofey and Stranorlar. Cloghan has one of the most prolific wild salmon and sea trout fishing ...

* Cloghanmore in Donegal * Menlo/ Mionloch in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...

In the meaning of "causeway", the most prominent example in Irish is the Giant's Causeway, known in Irish as ''Clochán an Aifir'' or ''Clochán na bhFomhórach''. In Scotland, clachans can be found in

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 202 ...

, Highland

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nor ...

and in the

Highland Council The Highland Council (' ), the political body covering the Highland (council area), Highland Local authorities of Scotland, local authority created in 1995, comprises 21 wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable v ...

region but also elsewhere, for example: * Clachan, Cowal, Argyll and Bute * Clachan, Lismore, Argyll and Bute * Clachan, Kintyre, Argyll and Bute * Clachan, Ross and Cromarty, Highland * Clachan, Skye, Highland * Clachan, Sutherland, Highland * Clachan, Raasay on the Isle of Raasay, Highland * Clachan, South Uist, Outer Hebrides *

Clachan of Campsie Clachan of Campsie or Campsie Glen ( gd, Clachan Chamais) is a settlement in the East Dunbartonshire area of Scotland. It was formerly part of the county of Stirlingshire. It is situated to the south of the Campsie Fells at the foot of Campsie Gl ...

* Clachan of Glendaruel in Argyll * Clachaneasy in

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, counci ...

* Hessilhead in North Ayrshire * Bloak in East Ayrshire * Ladeside in East Ayrshire * Damnaglaur in the Rinns of Galloway In Canada: * Clachan, Ontario, Canada

Notes

External links

The Glens of Antrim Historical Society
includes a substantial section on Clachans in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Rural geography Hamlets Types of populated places